Days 162 to 166: 24th to 28th November. Settling in to Ragusa

Friday

Another morning of boatschool and then down to the "square" for a BBQ laid on by the marina for their winter guests. (Nice of them to wait until we got here). It was a lovely afternoon with fantastic free food and wine, and kids running wild while adults had time to chat.

After a brief rest back at the boat we went back down to the Marina bar for "Happy Hour" where some musicians were having their weekly open mic night. It was really a bit late for the kids before it got going but as AJ really likes his music we stayed with it and enjoyed some adult company while the kids scooted outside. Once the louder initial "act" were done, Ina (who had arranged Roger's lift to the airport) got up to sing with a small group of musicians and was a truly beautiful singer who had both kids captivated. A lovely end to a lovely day!

Saturday

Saturday was the first time we really had chance to start tidying up as up until now we had been otherwise occupied with boatschool and social engagements. The kids had a great time running wild while I then went to get some groceries. Having filled my trolley I then realised I had left our Caxton card back on the boat. No worries, I could still use my Metrobank card.... at least I would have been able to if there was any money in that account. After having the card refused I had to call Patrick to bail me out, could have been more embarrassing if there had been a queue! In the end I figured out the problem and managed to transfer some money around using (the joys of mobile banking) and escape the shop!

All in all a rather low key day.


Sunday

A little more restful day, with kids running between boats. We had AJ's friend Ben on board for tea, a swap for Esmé who ate with Annabelle on Titania.


Monday

Back to boatschool and a bit of backlash, kids not appreciating the increase in academic work, despite it being the same for all their friends. Then in the afternoon Lottie organised a kids Christmas craft afternoon and  most kids duly attended to make cards and decorations. It was lovely to see AJ enjoying making paint footprints, something he'd never do at school!

Tuesday

More boatschool but I wanted to get finished early so I could go up to the Market in the town. We haven't really explored properly yet but I was keen to replenish our fruit and Veggie stock. I got there just before they started packing up and got plenty of provisions before checking out the playground for the kids to come to another day.

In the meantime Patrick got loads of washing done, before we had a quick lunch and then took the kids down to the Marina Bar for Aladdin rehearsals while Patrick and I had a sneaky drink in the sunshine... there has to be some perks of this life!

Days 158 to 161: 20th to 23rd November 2017

Monday: Riposto to Syracuse

Early start for the 50 miles or so to Syracuse which all the adults were looking forward to. Unfortunately I had a stinking cold and ached a lot so the 50 miles was a bit of an endurance for me and I was extremely glad when we entered the beautiful harbour.

Once moored I just slept while Patrick and Roger took the kids out to explore. When they returned we had a discussion about the plans for the next few days and as the weather looked good we decided to keep going for the next two days so we could be in Ragusa for Wednesday so that Roger could get a flight home Thursday in time for the weekend. Roger then suggested that we eat out that evening so I didn't have to cook and so I could see a little of the town before we departed the next day.



Syracuse was truly beautiful and I'm sure we will return to explore further. The meal was delicious, with the waiter even going out to another restaurant because AJ wanted Pizza which wasn't on their menu. Patrick's meal was a little on the small side but as I wasn't so hungry he ate some of mine, as well as some of Esme's so all was good.

Tuesday: Syracuse to Marzamemi

I was feeling a little better but still pretty rough so I was glad that today was only 20 miles. We arrived at Marzamemi, paid a somewhat excessive 30 Euros given the non existent facilities and again Roger and Patrick took the kids out to explore. Apparently the whole place was absolutely dead! If I was feeling a little better I would have wished we had carried on and sailed overnight to Ragusa. We had an early meal and played Squirkle, the game that Roger had kindly bought us as a present!

Wednesday: Marzamemi to Ragusa

Another early start and once we rounded the bottom of Sicily we were met by some rather unpleasant swell. Not enough to really slow us down, but enough to make moving around the boat down below a little uncomfortable. However our spirits couldn't be dampened as we looked forward to seeing both old friends and new at Ragusa. Esmé was very keen to talk to Kynan on the radio but unfortunately we could quite make it before they had to go out.

On our arrival we were met by a rib outside the harbour and as we followed it in we saw the Dizzie crew waving to us from the other side of the marina. As we moored up more and more kids appeared and we had a great feeling of community before our feet had even touched the dock. Once we had eaten lunch the kids went for a movie afternoon with the other 20 or so kids while we booked ourselves in and started to find our feet.

We then went round for a lovely dinner on Dizzie and enjoyed our last evening with Roger. 

Thursday: Thanksgiving in Ragusa

We woke at a much more sociable time than recently, had breakfast and said goodbye to Roger before starting boatschool. With only a few teething problems we got Maths and English out of the way before Esmé and I got a lift to a supermarket with Lynita as she went to pick up Kynan and Leora from the local preschool they are attending. 

On our return we had lunch before the kids disappeared off again while I prepared some whipped cream for part of our contribution to the Thanksgiving meal being organised by a lovely American family. Showers for the kids then off to the large meeting room for a fantastic celebration meal where we enjoyed amazing food, plentiful drinks and great conversation,  the kids eating and playing together all evening. All in all a lovely welcome to a fantastic place.

Days 153 to 157 : 14th to 19th November 2017

Tuesday: Vibo Valentia

A bit of a miserable day, catching up on shopping, boatschool, and then a walk to the railway station to check out train times to Pizzo where there was supposed to be a local speciality ice cream truffle.

Wednesday: Vibo Valentia

This time we decided to head out early for the station so we could appreciate Pizzo, unfortunately we had only glanced at the train times yesterday and didn't realise that they only ran every hour in the afternoon, not in the morning. Never mind, we wandered off and found a playground instead where we found numerous children... I guess it must have been a random no school day! There was an amazing wheelchair friendly swing there which all the children enjoyed playing in.

We then went back to the boat via the ice cream shop on the front as we had heard that they sold the Pizzo ice cream speciality there anyway. 

Esmé had an amazing hot chocolate which reminded us of the chocolate river in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

We then went to pay up and say goodbye to Angela at the Marina, and Esmé made friends with the bird, very disappointed that she hadn't seen him before now.

Thursday: Vibo to Bagnara Calabra

For Roger's first trip out on Laurin we set out with a little trepidation as the forecasts had been a little mixed and not very reliable over the previous days. In reality the trip was fine, except for the end where we got a little wet, and it felt like we were motoring in to a harbour of doom!








Once in the harbour we circled around until a guy gave us a shout and beckoned for us to go alongside the fuel pontoon. Once the rain stopped it turned into quite a nice evening, until it started again! The kids, Patrick and Roger went for a walk to the tower and then the kids enjoyed climbing on the sea wall near to Laurin.

We ended the day with rather good pizza at the restaurant about 50 yards away from the boat.


Friday: Bagnara Calabra to Riposto...... via the Messina Strait

It was with yet more trepidation that we approached the Messina Strait. Before we left I looked up the rules for reporting in to the Messina VTS and realised that Bagnara Calabra was already within their limits so I gave them a call and provided information on our boat name, size, and number of crew. It was an interesting trip along the Italian Coast, we could see whirlpools and our speed ranged from 4 to 9.5 knots depending on what the current was doing. As we were about to cross the shipping lanes we called Messina VTS again and they instructed us to proceed with caution. We saw a gap and went for it, dodging ferries, hydrofoils and other commercial ships.

Once on the Sicilian side we started to relax and enjoy the trip down to Riposto.

George, a Cruising Association HLR is based at Riposto in the winter so had advised the marina of our impending arrival and shortly after we had tied up he appeared to say hello and invite us to the liveaboard's Friday night. We turned up with leftover curry and a couple of bottles of wine and enjoyed a pleasant evening sampling the delights of other peoples offerings which included some amazing meatballs!

Saturday: Jobs day in Riposto

We awoke to an amazing view of Mount Etna but unfortunately very quickly the Volcano was covered in cloud. We realised that if we wanted to visit we would need a car and an early start. AJ at this point also said that he would prefer not to travel on his birthday so we talked to George and he very kindly arranged a rental car for us. We spent the rest of the day doing Laundry and a little shopping.

Sunday: Day out on Etna - AJ's Birthday

AJ woke early, opened his small pile of presents and very quickly built his new Lego set before we had breakfast and then set off for Etna. It was about an hours drive with a little tricky navigation but finally we were there. We bought tickets for the cable car but declined the four wheel drive bus tour further up the mountain as we didn't really have the footwear for walking on snow.  In any case just the cable car was ridiculously expensive and adding the bus and guide more than doubled the cost.

We all enjoyed the trip on the cable car and then went outside into the snow. Esmé immediately complained she was cold but we pressed on and walked upwards for a while. It was really the first time Esmé had experienced snow in any real quantity and it had been a long time for AJ too! Despite it being relatively poor visibility we enjoyed being in the different surroundings which was somewhat surreal when only hours earlier we had been in T-shirts at the marina! 

We investigated the different rocks and then Roger offered to take Esmé back to the café while Patrick and I stayed with AJ who was having a whale of a time playing in the snow.

AJ still seemed to have plenty of energy, I was feeling a little rough, and I could see that Patrick was desperate to climb higher so I went to join Roger and Esmé for a 5 Euro hot chocolate (Thanks Roger!) and left the boys to go on a little adventure. 

Apparently AJ did really well and we are now considering a return trip for Patrick and AJ and booking the tour right to the top!

Just before we left the café the cloud cleared and we had a lovely view of the top of the volcano smoking away.

On our return Patrick insisted I this picture for his colleagues at ECC as an example of Italian roadworks.

We were back on Laurin by lunchtime so we brought out AJ's final surprise, a fruit tart instead of a birthday cake as he absolutely loves these.... this is the first time we bought a family sized one and he was over the moon!

All in all, a lovely day!

Days 150 to 152: 11th to 13th November Cetraro, Vibo Valentia, and the arrival of Roger

Saturday: Camerota to Cetraro

Early morning again and I definitely wasn't feeling the love for sailing. Esmé had been not feeling well and I had been up in the night with her. Ideally we would have stayed another day but we only had 2 days good weather to get us down to Vibo Valentia before the weather turned for a while.

It was a strange old day and after I'd done a long stint at the helm I decided to get my head down for a while and catch up on sleep. After a while I was vaguely aware of the motion changing and after asking Patrick what was going on he told me to take a look. The wind had increased from a measly 5 knots to nearly 30 knots and although the sea was luckily still relatively flat, there was definitely more chop. AJ was starting to get concerned but Patrick did a great job of calming him down, and once we had thought a little, we realised that the wind was funnelling down a valley, and we could see an area a mile or so ahead with decidedly less white horses. As we crossed the line in the sea, the wind changed direction 180 Degrees and decreased from 28 knots to 8 knots. All good.

Patrick had phoned the harbour but the conversation consisted in Patrick speaking in English and the guy replying in Italian, I'm not sure anything was really understood except that they guy might have had a heads up a boat may be approaching. On entering the harbour we hung around for a while and then saw a guy walking towards us who guided us into our berth. We were told the office wasn't open until 6pm but when Patrick walked down he was told nobody would be there until 8am in the morning. Apparently when Patrick said we'd be gone by then the Italian said something that sounded like Transito which Patrick took to mean we had a free night... result!



Sunday: Cetraro to Vibo Valentia

An even earlier morning and very soon I broke out the emergency Coke Zero to hopefully give me enough energy for the day. After a while AJ popped his head up and asked if we were going to put the mizzen up. Patrick told him no, as there wasn't enough wind to make it worthwhile. My response was a little different, and I told him if he wanted it up he could put it up if he wanted. He disappeared down below and reappeared with lifejacket on, and then set to. It was lovely to see how much he knew and soon he was looking at his lovely mizzen!

Breakfast followed and then we enjoyed motoring on a glassy sea.

And then the dolphins came.... see video here.

We enjoyed them playing with us for about 20 minutes before they said goodbye and were on their way.

Onwards to Vibo Valentia where we got a lovely welcome and were well ready for a rest.

 Monday

Boatschool, tetchy kids, unsuccessful shopping, then our good friend Roger arrived! Lunch, chatting, weather watching, and planning before Thai green curry for tea.

Just had a little excitement with swell coming into the harbour and the boat next to us snapping a mooring spring. After taking a while to work out what had gone bang we quickly managed to re-secure the boat and phone the Angela at the marina who will send someone down to put something stronger on. All fun and games!

Day 149: 10th November 2017 An unexpected stay in Camerota

We woke early as planned, but to the sound of thunder and the drumming of rain on the deck which was definitely not planned. After a look at the updated forecast we decided sailing in a thunderstorm was not fun so we would stay put for a day. However we were now left with a problem in that we had told the fuel guy we would be off his pontoon by 6am! Patrick took a walk and found a night watchman in the marina office who said he would come and help us at about 7:30. Another 1/2 hour and we heard a fishing boat approaching and on sticking our heads out we saw they wanted to come alongside the fuel pontoon!

Very quickly the night watchman appeared with his umbrella and indicated he would help us move. Waterproofs on we motored across the harbour and contemplated another med mooring experience when we were met by a flurry of Italian and arms waving madly that we should just come alongside (so he could get out of the rain ASAP). This done he insisted on holding our boat documents hostage until the day guy arrived, which was a little uncomfortable but we had no choice. A little later Patrick retrieved them having paid 30 Euros for one night which was 5 Euros less than we had been quoted for the previous night before we stayed on the fuel pontoon.

As we were up early, boatschool happened very quickly, with the kids choosing to read more Harry Potter in the time they were working independently of me. After Maths and English we went for walk to the shop to top up our supplies. It was a 15 minute walk up a very steep hill with lots of complaints from Esmé. On our return AJ did his online GoZen programme and Esmé her Nessy online learning before I made lunch. At this point Esmé said she didn't feel good, didn't want to eat and spent the afternoon collapsed in front of a movie. AJ read more Harry Potter while I made soup for tomorrows passage and caught up on some paperwork.

I was just about to start contemplate cooking dinner when Patrick called me on deck to say there was a yacht aground in the entrance to the harbour. There is a silted up area on the way in that is marked by small red buoys, and a yacht had managed to get in there and was pounding on the ground. Very quickly there was a small fishing boat and the marina rib out trying to help but in the end it took a long time and a much bigger fishing boat to pull her off. It was heart breaking to watch and there was realistically nothing we could do to help. We could see her pivoting on her keel as boats tried to push and pull her off and rope after rope broke under the strain.

As if the job wasn't hard enough, the heavens then opened and there was full on thunder and lightening. 

All the land based spectators rushed for their cars, but the fishing boats battled on and eventually the yacht was free, and the sound of engine horns hooting echoed around the harbour in celebration. Unfortunately however, she had lost her throttle lever when one rope parted so had to be towed into the berth opposite us. We welcomed them in with offers of help, luckily there wasn't any water ingress although if it were me I would be lifting the boat for a look underneath. 

With all the drama over, and Esmé now asleep after having been dosed up with Calpol, I cooked dinner and we are now enjoying a quiet evening reading more Harry Potter with AJ.

Also today we had the great news that our friend Roger will be flying out on Monday to help us with our journey to Ragusa. It will be so lovely to see him and to have some more company!